Then, suddenly ... he knew. He didn’t know how or why he did ... but he did.

“Artemis,” he whispered.

And from next to him, almost in his ear, came the voice of the Old Father.

“Yes. Artemis,” he confirmed. “She loved you, you know. Not in any manner that meets the standard definition of sanity ... but she loved you.”

“Now what?”

“Now,” said Woden, “it finally ends.”

And that was when Calhoun’s voice came across the ship’s loudspeaker.

II.

“I can’t wait,” said Mackenzie Calhoun.

He was staring at the image of Danter on the screen, turning leisurely in its orbit. Suddenly from the tactical station, Zak Kebron called out, “Captain. Detecting an energy burst from the planet’s surface.”

The face of Morgan Primus suddenly appeared on the screen. “Confirming,” she said. “Energy surge bearing eighteen mark five. Similar to the energy frequencies generated by the Beings in their previous attack.”

“You still have firm control of conn, Morgan?”

“Aye, sir.”

“Captain,” Robin Lefler spoke up, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “For a potential battle situation, wouldn’t it make sense to have, you know ... a living person at that station? No offense, Mom.”

“You had a living person at that station,” Morgan reminded her archly. “Fat lot of good it did him.”

“Captain ...”

“Lieutenant, your opinion is noted and forgotten,” said Calhoun. “Calhoun to Trident.Captain Shelby, you ready?”

“Ready, Captain Calhoun,” replied Shelby. The Tridentwas out of sight on the opposite side of the world, so her voice was a comfort to him.

“Robin ... put me on with the crew.”

Robin made a quick adjustment at the ops station and nodded. “Go ahead, Captain.”

“Attention all hands,” said Calhoun after a moment. “This vessel is about to be attacked by the same individuals who damaged us so badly in our previous encounter. We have, however, determined the source of their power ... and believe it or not ... the enemy is us. They will feed on any doubts, any reservations we have, and turn those doubts against us. We cannot permit that to happen.

“This ship ... this crew ... is more than just a Starfleet crew going through its paces. You are all, every one of you, heroes in your own right. The thing is, even heroes feel fear. They feel it, but they get the job done despite it.

“You have to be more than that. You must feel no fear. You must not waver in your confidence, even for a moment. Each and every one of you must visualize our triumph over these creatures. Visualize it, hold on to it for all it’s worth. Use it as a source of strength to overcome any hesitation or fear you might have, or might even think of having.

“And consider this: Throughout centuries, the greatest legends of mankind have been steeped in eras and times when mere mortals threw themselves against the will of the gods and triumphed over impossible odds. Those mortals are among the greatest, most epic of heroes that have ever existed. Rather than have a moment’s fear over our present situation, think upon the fact that you have the honor, the privilege, the pure joy of being here on an occasion that is positively epic. We face beings who purport to be gods. We fight a fight for control of our own destinies that began millennia ago and ends this day. And all of you, every single one of you, will cherish this opportunity and be able to hold your heads high and say, ‘I was there. I touched greatness. I am an epic hero. I served aboard a ship that carried me to greatness, and I was up to the journey.’

“And I know you are. As your captain, as your leader, as a man privileged to serve with you, I know that each and every one of you are.

“All hands, battle stations. This one is for the book of legends. Calhoun out.”

He paused a long moment then, allowing the silence to thicken. Then he said, “Captain Shelby ... you may want to give your own crew some sort of pep talk as well, just to make sure ...”

“I simply broadcast yours when you were speaking, Mac,” said Shelby, and even though it was only her voice, he could hear the smile in it. “I felt sure you could do the job for both of us. Good luck.”

“Same to you, Captain.” Then he turned to Ambassador Spock, who was simply standing there, stony-faced, looking at the planet below. “Is that what Captain Kirk would have done?” he asked.

“Perhaps,” said Spock. “Either that or he would simply have medicated the entire crew.”

“Oh,” said Calhoun. “Well ... that would have worked too, I suppose.”

“Captain,” came Morgan’s voice, “here they come.”

She was right.

They were visible on the screen, and it almost seemed a replay of the previous encounter. A sailing vessel of ancient origin, a trireme, coming straight toward them. Its battering ram protruded in the shape of a giant ram’s head, and it appeared on a collision course.

“Welcome to the party,” Calhoun said calmly.

“Captain,” said Spock, “it should be noted that, once battle is joined, anything can occur. And that the most difficult thing to fight ... is water.”

“Water?” said Kebron from tactical.

“Yes ... water, Mr. Kebron,” Calhoun agreed. “The ocean. The waves pound you, but you can’t hit it back because it moves wherever you try.”

“Enemy is preparing to engage. Evasive action, Captain?” came Morgan’s voice.

“Targeting incoming vessel,” said Kebron.

“Don’t do anything,” replied Calhoun.

“Nothing?”

“Morgan ... we’re going to need you for this, because nothing human can think fast enough. When they start firing, analyze where the missiles are going to hit, and simply roll with it. Preserve the shielding. Captain to all hands,” he continued without pause. “Just so you know, we’re going to be rocking a bit. But we’re not going to be hurt. Nothing they’re going to do can hurt us. And we’re going to rub their noses in that. In fact, if I were you, I’d start feeling sorry for them. Calhoun out.” He turned toward Burgoyne. “Burgy, make sure engineering is keeping the white noise going through the sensor dish.”

“Aye, Captain.”

“Here it comes!”called Lefler.

Just as before, arrows came hurtling through the ether of space. They hammered into the Excalibur’sshields, and the starship pitched and yawed with each new salvo. They did not, however, fire back.

“Status report, Mr. Kebron.”

“Shields holding, Captain.”

“Calhoun to all hands. Shields are holding firm. They’re not hurting us. Not at all.”

Again and again, as the trireme hurtled toward them, the darkness of space was alive with the glow of the arrows. And with computer precision, Morgan not only was able to roll with each new attack, but even began dodging some of them entirely. No starship was particularly graceful when it was under impulse power, but in the case of the Excalibur,under Morgan’s guidance, the vessel dipped, twisted, and turned about like a vast dancer.

Closer and closer came the trireme, and still the assault continued to have no effect. The entire time, Calhoun continued to speak to his crew, to exhort them to be utterly convinced that the Beings had no chance. He extolled their bravery, spoke condescendingly of the Beings, reminded them of all the challenges they’d faced before that they’d come through.

“They thought they could defeat us!”Calhoun called, his voice rising as if he were speaking to an array of troops spread across a field, and for the first time in ages, he felt the blood of what he once was, a warlord of Xenex, pounding through him. So sterile had been his time as commander, operating from a small room rather than being in the midst of his people, waving a sword, shouting encouragement to them and howling that no enemy could possibly stand in opposition to him. He hadn’t even realized it was missing until this very moment, but now, now he would never let it go again. “They thought they could batter us down! But they were wrong! We do not need to believe in them! We believe in ourselves! We will triumph! We will beat them down! We will show them that the United Federation of Planets does not bow, does not break to those who would try to deprive us of our very drive to achieve! Mr. Kebron: All phasers, fire!”